Oakland A's @ Seattle Mariners

[Sweezo]

This is a little late but there's still some games left in the series. I went to the game last night, and it was a nice change. The Felix "Supreme Court" games are fun because the crowd really gets into, and Felix seems to feed off of the energy. He was mowing guys down tonight.

And they still almost pissed it away. I was surprised Felix came back out in the 8th, and the bullpen did him few favors when he left. Thankfully, he has an offense this year that can give him a cushion.

Great win...now, let's see Erasmo beat Sonny Gray tomorrow.

[Bulltalk]

Cool. I'm actually thinking about taking in a Mariners game sometime soon. A game in which Felix is pitching, too.

I hope we can win one of these last two games and take the series before heading off on the road. I've heard it mentioned that the M's must make more hay with the Astros this year than they did last year. Also, get more wins against the Rangers than they do against us early on when they are a little down on their health luck.

Taijuan might be brought up in the next 10 days or so. That's a good sign. But I'm especially waiting for the return of Iwakuma. It would be great to have two starters again where you felt we had a very good chance of winning the game before the first pitch was thrown.

Felix is just awesome. I just love the guy. Love the way he pitches. What an arsenal.

If we can get out of April at .500 or a tad better, that will be a victory for this team and will keep me feeling hopeful.

Still lusting after a RF bat. It would be nice if we didn't wait to the damn trade deadline to shore up our hitting a little more.

Nick Franklin has been doing well in AAA ball, and it's becoming apparent that we now have a bevy of talented young pitchers for teams in need of such a thing. Our trade assets are looking a little better at this time.

Feeling real good about Ackley and Zunino so far. Miller and Seager haven't been consistent at the plate as of yet, but I tend to have confidence in their abilities in this department. As for Smoak, as good as he's done so far, I'm still holding my breath about him. He tends to go into these tailspins. I'd like to see him in the 5-hole and a new talented bat in the 4-hole (still think Zunino may surprise us this year as a hitter, and move him up in the order).

All in all, good things so far. Wish we could have been 7-2. Oh well.

Go M's.

[nuke the whales]

Rangers must really be desperate.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rangers-tr ... --mlb.html

[Sweezo]

Cool. I'm actually thinking about taking in a Mariners game sometime soon. A game in which Felix is pitching, too.

I'm convinced my wife if we stop by the Macrina bakery near SafeCo for brunch tomorrow that the 1:00 matinee game might be a good followup. I've struggled with going to games the past couple years because it's tough paying $50 for a bad product when I can watch the games on TV, but I plan on going to 10+ this season which is usually what I shoot for.

I hope we can win one of these last two games and take the series before heading off on the road. I've heard it mentioned that the M's must make more hay with the Astros this year than they did last year. Also, get more wins against the Rangers than they do against us early on when they are a little down on their health luck.

Right. Now is the time to take advantage. If we can someone put some distance between ourselves and the rest of the division WITHOUT Iwakuma/Paxton/Walker, we could find ourselves in the position of being the favorites to win the AL West.

Taijuan might be brought up in the next 10 days or so. That's a good sign. But I'm especially waiting for the return of Iwakuma. It would be great to have two starters again where you felt we had a very good chance of winning the game before the first pitch was thrown.

Media's saying Beavan is being called up for a spot start and Walker's going to Tacoma. I suppose it's better to not rush Walker since he didn't really get any work in during the spring, but dammit do I hate seeing Beavan on the mound. I have zero confidence in him, and I never will. Lloyd better pump the breaks with his bullpen usage because we're going to use some of those guys with Young and Beavan in the rotation.

Felix is just awesome. I just love the guy. Love the way he pitches. What an arsenal.

Has ever pitched better than he is right now? 3 games, 3 wins, 2.11 ERA, 30 K's, 2 BB? If you're not a fan of ERA [and why would anyone be] his FIP and xFIP are nearly the exact same number. Who averages 10 Ks a game nowadays? Bring on the 20 wins and a Cy Young.

Still lusting after a RF bat. It would be nice if we didn't wait to the damn trade deadline to shore up our hitting a little more.

I like Romero's potential but he's just not getting it done right now. Milone got a few strikeouts, but he got Romero four times. I think at least three of those were half-hearted swings over the top of change-ups at his shoes. He's certainly not costing the team wins right now but we might have to do something else there if the trend continues.

Nick Franklin has been doing well in AAA ball, and it's becoming apparent that we now have a bevy of talented young pitchers for teams in need of such a thing. Our trade assets are looking a little better at this time.

When the pitching staff is at full strength, I'm wondering what a package of Franklin and a pitcher [Erasmo/Elias] might be worth? I'm hesitant to move Paxton/Walker given their potential and knowing Iwakuma's not under contract for very long.

Feeling real good about Ackley and Zunino so far. Miller and Seager haven't been consistent at the plate as of yet, but I tend to have confidence in their abilities in this department. As for Smoak, as good as he's done so far, I'm still holding my breath about him. He tends to go into these tailspins. I'd like to see him in the 5-hole and a new talented bat in the 4-hole (still think Zunino may surprise us this year as a hitter, and move him up in the order).

That home run by Zunino was no joke. I don't expect him to flirt with a .300 batting average, but if he hits with the kind of power that he has it doesn't really matter. The guy's a good all around catcher and he's only going to get better.

Seager's close. That near HR was hit well enough.

Rangers must really be desperate.

Joe Saunders AND Noesi, possibly in the same rotation? That home stand against Texas can't come soon enough.

[iceman1685]

hector in Texas lol hope that gives us a few more wins and them a few more losses

[Sweezo]

Not a great start from Erasmo today. Too many favorable counts for the A's as he's struggled mightily with his control.

[iceman1685]

Not a great start from Erasmo today. Too many favorable counts for the A's as he's struggled mightily with his control.

very lucky to geet thru 5 with only 3 run giving up. ackley 2 drops not helping anyone. but we got to the pen in the 7th now we might have a shot

[nuke the whales]

Not sure what was more surprising there, Bloomquist pinch hitting or getting a hit.

[Sweezo]

Our offense is back in the toilet:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/chrisdaniels5/status/455199777739649024[/tweet]

What is it with this team and hitting in SafeCo? They got off to such a nice start, but as soon as they come back home nobody can get a base hit anymore.

[Bulltalk]

I missed the game completely tonight. First this season. A date thing. But it appears it was a good non-decision.

Let's get this last game of the series by hook or by crook, by any means necessary.

[iceman1685]

young does not look bad maybe he can hold the fort down till our guys get healthy

[iceman1685]

young got lucky on to deep drives that hooked foul

[iceman1685]

i hope pulling kazmir after 6 and only 82 pitches and then pulling your reliever after 1 ab comes back and bites them.

mariners need to come out and get 2-3 runs

[nuke the whales]

Can we say the offense is officially a problem now? Both Hart and Morrison have been duds and Smoak is back to bad Smoak.

[Sweezo]

Can we say the offense is officially a problem now? Both Hart and Morrison have been duds and Smoak is back to bad Smoak.

It's looking like a problem. Not only have the players you mentioned struggled, but RF is looking like a black hole. Romero's really looking lost up there and Saunders is doing the same old thing as well. Cano and Ackley are hitting, and that's it.

Also, I'm not a fan of McLendon's bullpen management today. Putting Furbush in to face Moss was a poor move. When I saw it happen I turned to my wife and said as much. We paid for it, and oh what a treat it was to be seated directly in front of a loudmouth A's fan who cheered loudly and then proceeded to talk trash after saying nary a word when the game was tied. Your team won buddy, but you're still from Oakland and you looked like a thumb. Won the battle, but you're losing the war...

Anyway, maybe it's an OK move if he just faces Moss [who took a seat for Lowrie anyway], but why put in the lefty when he's going to then face Cespedes/Callaspo/Reddick? Callaspo's a switch hitter but he's hit lefties far better than righties over the course of his career. Anyone besides Luetge would have made more sense there.

[Sweezo]

young got lucky on to deep drives that hooked foul

That's kind of his thing but he survived. He's throwing mid-80's fastballs out there but boy does it get on the hitter quick. Kazmir was hitting about 93 mph on the fun but they looked like they were throwing about the same out there.

[Sweezo]

Let's take a look at some pitching numbers, shall we?

Chris Young: 8 IP, 0.00 ERA, .088 WHIP, 3 BB, 4 Ks
Randy Wolf: 0 IP
Aaron Harang: 18.2 IP, 0.96 ERA, .08 WHIP, 6 BB, 17 Ks
Bartolo Colon: 18 IP, 6.00 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 2 BB, 12 Ks
Ubaldo Jiminez: 16 IP, 7.31 ERA, 2.06 WHIP, 10 BB, 13 Ks
Ervin Santana: 8 IP, 0.00 ERA, 0.38 WHIP, 0 BB, 6 Ks

The sample sizes for all of these players are low, of course. And the stats may not be the best way to measure performance but you could pick just about stats available. The point is the performances have been interesting.

In the search for pitching depth, we've held up pretty well all things considered. And the big names we threw around? They've all been pretty terrible. Santana's been the exception but he signed late due to a big change in contract demands, got behind schedule, and has only been able to make one start so far where we might have needed more than that.

Bizarre that a castaway who I have little to no interest in retaining, Aaron Harang, has been absolutely lights out so far. Go figure.

[Bulltalk]

Yes Sweezo, it's getting a little worrisome, this hitting thing, especially at home. You just CAN'T have these kind of averages/OBP's from the majority of your starting lineup:

Miller .224/.240
Smoak .220/.304
Almonte .217/.294
Seager .121/.293
Hart .188/.325
Sanders .176/.211
Morrison .150/.227

RF/DH is becoming a bit of a problem now, definitely RF. I'm fearing that Smoak is always going to be a sub .250 hitter. No matter how good he hits in a streak, there always seems to be one of his tailspins lurking just around the corner. That's why I wanted him in like the 6-hole, not the 4-hole. And I DEFINITELY think ownership/management has to become aggressive about obtaining a sold hitter for RF. I'm kind of giving up on Saunders, Romero is just too young/inexperienced now (and haven't we enough of that in the OF and the rest of the team already?), and Morrison...does anyone REALLY see him as the answer?

I'm wiling to give Corey Hart more time at DH, as he's proven he can hit at the ML level, but we could shore up that spot as well.

I'm largely pleased by Cano, Ackley, and Zunino so far, all things considered.

And why do we always seem to play the A's so much very early in the season?